The Veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension and headaches are remanded due to deficiencies in the duty to assist, inadequate VA examination, and failure to address certain theories of service connection.
The deciding factor: The Board found that the Veteran's complete service treatment records were not associated with the record at the time of the prior adjudication, which is a pre-decisional duty to assist error. Additionally, the August 2019 VA examination was inadequate as it did not address whether the Veteran's headaches are related to any incurrences of active-duty service or exposure to environmental hazards.
- Claimed conditions
- hypertension, headaches
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- Burn pits / airborne hazards
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 7, 2023
- Citation
- A23034949
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A23034949.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's headaches are at least as likely as not caused by his service-connected traumatic brain injury, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the claims for service connection for hypertension and peripheral neuropathy of the bilateral upper and lower extremities due to insufficient medical opinions regarding their etiology.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to incomplete development of records and will provide a supplemental statement of the case if necessary.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Veteran's claims for increased ratings and service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional development, including VA examinations.
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